Higher Education
by theravenclawquill
Summary: Alex and Justin end up attending NYU together - even living in the same hall. When Alex and her neighbor Kyle become close, Justin inexplicably finds himself being jealous. Jalex
1. Moving In

**(A/N) **I'm not the biggest fan of Jalex, but I do love Selena and David together, sooo... result. (: Enjoy, hopefully?

Chapter 1

Alex Russo groaned and let the box she was carrying drop to the floor of Room 378. It landed with a light thud and tumbled onto its side. "Ugh, Dad," she grumbled, plopping into a nearby chair in her new, empty dorm room. "I don't see why we can't just use magic to move all this junk! We'll just have Max let his mice into the hallways or something as a distraction… no one will even notice me."

Jerry Russo's slightly balding head peeked out from behind the large cardboard box he was struggling with. "Alex," he panted, "please lower your voice when using the 'm' word in public. And I told you already, the answer is no." He set the package down in a vacant corner and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"What 'm' word? Mice?" Max Russo appeared in the doorway, lugging two of Alex's giant suitcases. "Or wait. Do you mean Max?" He paused in thought. "Does this mean I should change my name? Because I've always thought Quesadilla would be a great name for me."

As usual, Alex widely ignored her little brother and did what she did best – whine. "But Dad," she whined, fingering the wand she had tucked in the belt loop of her dark blue jeans. "I'm so tired. I had to lug that box up two flights of stairs."

The eldest Russo sibling, Justin, entered the dorm room and all but threw his box at Alex's feet. It thudded heavily. "Oh please!" he scoffed, walking over to Alex's discarded box and ripping it open. Two champagne colored pillows tumbled out, followed by a white bedspread. "You were carrying a box of pillows! If anyone should be complaining, it's me! I think I pulled something just now." He rotated his shoulder, flexing quite impressively beneath his white polo.

"Oh, really?" With one swift motion, Alex extended a sharp fingernail and cut open the tape on the box Justin was carrying to reveal a messy collection of her painstakingly selected college wardrobe. She smirked, pulling out a floral camisole and dangling it mockingly upon one perfectly manicured finger. "And I guess carrying a box of your little sister's underwear makes you Macho Man, huh?"

Justin let go of his shoulder immediately, huffing indignantly. "Well, I never said it was heavy… just – you know – okay, and why am I even helping you carry your stuff? I have my own dorm room to move into!" He waved his hands in frustration and stomped out.

Alex chuckled and plopped back into her chair. "Heh. Heh. Oh, he's a funny one." To her dad, she added, "Aren't you glad I got the looks and the charm, eh, Dad?"

Jerry sighed and pulled the other chair in the room over to sit next to her. "And the brains too, now, I have to admit." He smiled. "Alex, I never got the chance to tell you this beforehand, but I hope you know how proud your mom and I are of you of getting into college."

"Pft," Alex scoffed, picking at her fingernail, "tell me about it. I have no idea how _that_ happened." Granted, she was only majoring in Fashion Merchandising at NYU, and it was probably only that horrendous fashion internship four years ago that got her accepted – but still. Alex Russo had gotten accepted to college. _Suck on that, Laritate,_ she thought with a grin.

"And to the same college as your brother, not to mention!" her dad was still saying.

"Dad," Alex interrupted. "Justin is majoring in Mechanical Engineering, with a double minor in Physics and Chemistry. You really don't expect me to believe that you're proud of me for getting into the same school for Fashion Merchandising."

Jerry opened his mouth to object, but Max – from the corner of the room where he had been setting up Alex's desk – supplied helpfully, "Hey, Mom and Dad thought you were gonna have to go to military school at one point. They'd be proud of you even if you went to college for Hamburger Flipping." He gasped. "Which would be _so_ awesome, by the way. Do you think they really have that major?"

Alex rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Thanks for trying, Max." She turned to her dad. "And thanks, Dad. I really hope I make you guys proud."

They both hugged and stood up, pushing the chairs back to their original positions. "Speaking of Mom, where is she?"

"Oh, I think she's down the hall helping Justin move his stuff into his room," Jerry replied. "Apparently he has some fragile stuff that required her nimble fingers."

"What, don't tell me he brought along his stupid action figure doll collection to college!" Alex laughed – just as Justin passed her door, gingerly toting a box of plastic toys.

He stopped in his tracks. "They're not dolls, Alex!" he scowled. A pretty blond girl suddenly squeezed past him in the hallway, giggling. He watched her go, flustered. "No, they're more like collector's items, I swear!" he called to her back. He swung back to face Alex. "Thanks a lot," he huffed.

"Anytime, bro," she smiled sweetly, waving to him as he walked off.

When he was out of sight, Alex sighed dramatically and clasped her hands together. "Well, it looks like Mr. Macho needs as much help as he can get over there! Better go help him out, Dad."

"What – are you sure you have everything under control here?"

"Absolutely, Father. Max and I will get everything sorted out. It'll be fun. Bonding time. You know. I'm not going to see him for a year, so sad. Gonna miss him!" She grinned. Alex had gotten really good at bullshitting over the course of her life.

"Well, okay." Jerry made his way to the door. "I'll be back in about 20 minutes to bring up your bike…"

"Yeah, yeah okay, thanks, Dad!"

The second he left, Alex swung the door shut and turned the lock.

"We're not going to bond, are we?" Max sighed matter-of-factly.

"Nope. But I will actually miss you next year." Alex pulled her cherry oak wand out of her belt loop and chanted with a mischievous grin, "_Look at this mess, junk all over this space, help me put everything into its rightful place!_"

With a flash, Alex's previously barren dormitory morphed into a room fit for an Ikea catalog. Each piece of her extensive wardrobe was hanging neatly in her closet, organized by both color and season. Her sleek white desk and drawers were neatly filled with accessories like a tri-lamp, picture frames, and a Union Jack-patterned alarm clock. The left wall was lined with pictures of her favorite album covers; the right, a huge poster of the Eiffel Tower. Her favorite Victorian, black-framed mirror from home hung to the right of her champagne pillows and white bedspread. The last item, an off-white fuzzy rug, floated lightly into place at her feet.

Alex exhaled contently and tucked her wand back into her jeans. "That should do it," she smiled, turning to an otherwise bored Max. "Now, let's go see if Justin needs any of my expert assistance."

The two stepped into the busy dorm hallway, which already reeked of a mixture of sweat and new furniture. Alex mused about how difficult move-in day must be for non-wizards. She shuddered as she contemplated how hard it would be to have set up her room by hand.

She passed by her neighbor's door and scanned the name placard on the front. _Kyle Scripps. Hm, my neighbor sounds potentially cute. _She turned to the door directly in front of it. _Rachel Bachman. Sounds potentially annoying. _One by one, Alex read off names on doors until they reached Room 370 – Justin's room.

"Hello family!" Alex chirped loudly, startling her mother and father – who were practically sprawled on the floor trying to place risers under the bed. "I'm all done, just thought I'd come by to offer some uh, moral support." She plopped onto Justin's swivel chair and swung her Converse-clad feet onto his desk.

Justin looked over from hanging up shirts in his closet. "You can't possibly be done - " he started, then gasped in realization. "Unless! Wait. You – you used magic!"

Alex raised an eyebrow and shot him a smug smile. "Oh, Justin, please lower your voice when using the 'm' word."

"Uh-b-b!" Justin sputtered angrily and spun to face their father. "Dad! Alex used the 'm' word in public!"

Jerry and Theresa Russo both climbed to their feet. "Alex Russo…" Jerry groaned. "What did I tell you about the 'm' word!"

Before she could retort, however, Max cut in valiantly, "Okay, okay guys, I was there. I can vouch for Alex and honestly say that there were absolutely _no_ mice involved today."

There was a brief silence before Alex shook her head slightly and said, "Look, there was no one around, and I had the door locked and the blinds pulled. It was only to organize what was already carried into my room. No one saw. No big deal at all."

"Fine. I'll let it go today, but never again this year, Alex." Her father pointed menacingly. "No magic. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear." She snapped her strawberry gum and saluted.

"Alright." Jerry seemed satisfied and turned to his wife. "Now honey, what about these bed risers?"

Theresa shrugged, wiping sweat off her forehead. "I guess. It's only fair."

"Fine. Max?" Jerry sighed in defeat and motioned for his son to take out his wand.

As Max recited a simple spell to raise the bed, Alex stepped to Justin's side. "Look at that," she chortled triumphantly. "Got you to get to use magic to clean your shit up, too. I deserve a thank you, don't I?" She extended her arms for a hug, all the while smirking her usual one-sided smirk.

"Aw," Justin smirked back and leaned in for the hug. "Thanks so much, sis."

Alex allowed herself to sink, letting herself fall into the capable and toned arms of her older brother. Her face was pressed against Justin's hard sternum, which smelled of sharp pine and what she vaguely recognized as library books (very vaguely). Her lashes fluttered closed and she smiled. She really did like her brother sometimes. The peaceful moment ended, however, when she realized that his grip was getting steadily stronger.

"Ouch. Dude, you're hurting me!" she mumbled, struggling against his death vise.

"Good." Justin smirked and let go. "I feel better now. Now get out of my room."

* * *

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it. Please feel free to review; it makes me super happy!


	2. Involvement Fair

**(A/N) **Thank yous to Baku Babe, the Little Lost Lamb, blblblblbl, and Not Just a Nerd for the reviews! I definitely appreciate them! :) As for the chapter - apologies if it gets a little overwhelming with all the new characters... I promise next chapter will be easier to follow. Onwards! :)

* * *

Alex looked around at the throng of people in the quad for the Student Involvement Fair and instantly felt tired. Signs and people screamed at her in every direction. "Join Community Service Club!" "Sign up for Women's Rugby!" _Okay, if I were a quality citizen and lesbian, I totally would,_ Alex thought acerbically to herself. _Negative and negative._

She sighed and shaded her eyes against the sharp New York sun. She really was only at the fair because she had promised her dad she would try to get involved in something this fall. But she had always subscribed to the belief that if there was no free shit at an event, there was really no point in being there.

Suddenly, a voice came from under one tree to her left – "Come to our first meeting of The Monthly Manhattan tonight! Free pizza!"

"Free food?" Alex grinned. "That's more like it. I'm there!" She grabbed a flyer from the small brunette advertiser.

"Hah, just what I was thinking."

Alex turned around in surprise, not aware that there had been someone standing there the whole time.

And that someone turned out to be a tall, attractive guy with short blond hair, wearing a baseball cap and a plain white tee shirt. His style screamed 'laid back beach boy' – Alex guessed maybe from California or Florida.

He smiled toothily and extended a hand. "Kyle. What's your name?"

Alex found her voice and shook his hand. "Alex."

"So Alex, you're in this for the free food?"

She shrugged. "Eh. I don't know, I mean, I could potentially get into this whole magazine thing, but free food never hurt anyone."

"I hear you." He laughed. "So, where are you from?"

Alex smirked to herself. _Here we go. The standard college introductions. _She'd had way too many of these introductions, to people she didn't care about and would probably never talk to again, the past two days. _But I'll humor this guy anyway. He's cute._

"New York," she replied. "I'm local. You?"

"That's cool. I'm from Hawaii."

"Awesome." Alex was barely listening anymore, but operating on College Introduction Autopilot. "Freshman?"

"Yep. Where are you living this year?"

"Marshall."

"I'm living in Marshall too."

"Oh, really?" Alex remembered something. "Hey, is the air conditioning in your room broken too, then? I think mine is, and I'm starting to sweat buckets in there."

"No, mine works fine," he smiled, looking amused. "Hey Alex, I gotta run. But it was really nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you at this meeting tonight?"

"You know what? Maybe." Alex smirked, knowing full well how all those introductory conversations ended – with the usual "_Maybe I'll see you around but I know realistically, we'll probably never talk again_" shtick.

When Kyle had disappeared into the crowd, Alex turned back to the Monthly Manhattan booth. The brunette behind the table was saying with the girl next to her, "So Kyle Scripps will probably get the sports section, Bobby Chan will -"

Alex raised her eyebrows at the familiar name. "Wait, I'm sorry," she cut into their conversation with an outstretched hand. "Who's Kyle Scripps?"

The brunette turned her large saucer eyes on Alex. "You were just talking to him, silly!"

"Whoa, really? That's him? He's my neighbor! That didn't even register with me. I totally saw his name on the door next to my room."

"Oh," the girl smiled politely. "That's nice." She turned back to chatting, leaving Alex to muse over how small the world was.

* * *

Alex met her other neighbor that night.

Rachel Bachman was almost the physical opposite of Alex; she was exceedingly tall and willowy, with stick straight dirty-blonde hair, green eyes, and a smattering of light freckles on her California-tanned skin. In fact, in later years, people would refer to Alex and Rachel as 'Summer and Marissa' – they reminded everyone of the famous_ O.C. _pair.

The two bumped into each other while Rachel was carrying a trash bag to the garbage chute and before Alex was to go to the Monthly Manhattan meeting.

"I love your shoes," Rachel grinned from her doorway. Like Alex, she had her hair thrown into a messy ponytail and was wearing shorts with a ribbed tank top. Unlike Alex, she was barefoot.

Alex looked down at her black ankle boots and smiled. "Thanks! I found them at this sweet vintage place on Fifth."

"Well, you'll have to take me, 'cause I'm not familiar with any of the places around here. I'm from L.A." Rachel's smiled her dazzling white grin, put down her garbage bag, and held out her hand. "Rachel."

"Alex." She smiled back. This Rachel Bachman seemed likeable. But then again, Alex's perception of what constituted a friend wasn't too keen – after all, she'd hung out with a girl who'd worn real radish earrings her entire life.

"So, Alex, are you thinking about rushing at all this semester?"

"Rushing?" Alex furrowed her brows in confusion. "Nah, I usually take my time getting places. I actually was voted Most Tardy last year at my high school."

Rachel laughed, dimples emerging on her cheeks. "No, I mean, like rushing a sorority. You should think about it!"

_A sorority? _Alex almost laughed out loud at the thought. _Alex Russo in a sorority? Oh my God, my high school peers would have a field day with this one._

Rachel must've seen the look on Alex's face, because she hurriedly went on, "Well okay, you don't have to rush, but the sorority I'm interested in is having a mixer at their brother fraternity's house later on tonight. You should come with me, yeah?"

Alex considered it. "Will there be free food?"

"Oh yeah, for sure. And music and drinks."

"Ok! I'm there." Alex grinned. This party had just one-upped the Monthly Manhattan meeting. One part of her felt slightly disappointed that she wouldn't get to see Kyle, but the other half reminded her that he was her neighbor and would be a wall away from her the entire year.

"Excellent!" Rachel grinned back and then pulled a face as she held up her trash. "All right, I gotta go dump this out. I'll knock on your door at 10, so you better be ready then!"

When Rachel turned the corner, Alex turned to go back inside her room. However, at that very moment, the door to her right swung open – and out emerged one Kyle Scripps with a sleek road bike in tow, as well as a small, surly looking girl with a blond bob.

"Hey!" Kyle's eyes lit up in recognition. "No way, you live right next door to me?"

Alex smiled and shrugged, as if to say "Go figure!"

"Who's _that_?" the girl frowned, hissing the second word.

"Oh, sorry." Kyle put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "This is Lily, my girlfriend. She lives in another building, but might be staying over a lot this year. Lily, this is my neighbor… Alex, right?"

_Girlfriend. Oh. _Alex felt an inexplicable drop in her stomach, but ignored it. "Right. It's nice to meet you, Lily. And, uh, nice to see you again, Kyle."

Lily smiled thinly and stared pointedly at Alex's lack of clothing. "Same."

"So!" Kyle pushed his bike towards the direction of the elevators. "You also coming to the Monthly Manhattan meeting? We're heading over right now."

Alex made a guilty face. "Yeah, about that… turns out I gotta help my brother move some stuff. He just broke his arm, see, and he's still not all moved in yet. But thanks for the offer."

"No problem. Maybe I'll bring back some free pizza for you." Kyle smiled, his eyes crinkling up into charming half-moons.

They waved goodbye, and with one final backwards glare by Lily, they were gone.

Alex exhaled and chuckled to herself. "Well, good idea to walk outside just now, Alex," she muttered, before deciding to skip down the hall to Justin's room. Through the door, she could hear the pings of a video game going off. She rolled her eyes and barged in.

Justin had been, not surprisingly, in the middle of a video game, but he was so startled that the controller he was holding practically flew out of his hand. "Alex!" he yelled, voice cracking. "Can you not do that! Maybe think about knocking next time?"

"Hm," Alex pretended to contemplate as she leapt onto her brother's bed. "Thought about it. Still not gonna knock. So!" She propped herself onto her elbows and smirked at Justin. "Guess who just got invited to her first college party. Your little sister!"

Justin visibly stiffened and paused his video game. "By who?"

"My neighbor Rachel."

"Where?"

"At a frat house."

"No."

"What?" Alex snapped. "What do you mean, 'no'? Who are you, Dad?"

Justin sighed and turned around. "Alex, I've been to those types of parties before - "

She shot him a look.

"Okay, I've _heard_ about those types of parties before… and they can get pretty dangerous. I don't think you should be going on your third day of freshman year. Not to mention, classes start on Monday. I'm your brother, and it's my job to look after you."

"Ugh," Alex groaned. "Fine, if you're so concerned, why don't you come with? Rachel is really cute; maybe you guys will hit it off."

Justin reddened and ran a hand through his faux-hawk. "Well, I don't need…"

"She's blonde."

"…a girlfriend…"

"From L.A."

"…at the moment…"

"Chemistry major."

"What time should I be ready?"

Alex smirked triumphantly.

* * *

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! As always, feel free to let me know what you thought. :) I will update soon!


	3. Frat Party

(A/N) Thank you's to Lady Eirenna, Not Just a Nerd, Lord Squinty Frown, blblblblbl, Baku Babe, and thelovelybuttercup, for the reviews! I was concerned about the last chapter, but your kind words made me super happy! :) Onwards!

* * *

There was a sharp intake of breath as Alex swung open her door for Rachel at 10 pm. It belonged to Rachel, who then immediately dragged Alex by the arm into the hallway.

"Well, well, Alex!" she scoffed, with a wide grin. "You certainly don't waste any time!"

"Uh…" Alex raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "Come again?"

Rachel jerked her head in the direction of Alex's room. "A boy in your room already?" Her green eyes lit up with mischief. "And what a hottie! Sorry I'm interrupting."

"Hottie?" Alex shook her head and stared at her in narrow-eyed confusion for a while longer before it finally dawned on her. "Hottie… oh! Boy! In my room!" She brayed in loud laughter. "You think Justin – and I -" Alex sputtered. "Oh God, that's rich. You're funny! Yeah okay, I like you…" She trailed off, still laughing and muttering incoherently to herself.

Now it was Rachel's turn to look confused. "What's so funny?"

Alex placed a hand on her new friend's shoulder. "Well. Despite the fact that Justin is my older brother, it is also funny that you would call a boy who wears a Spiderman Snuggie around the house a 'hottie'."

"Oops." Rachel laughed sheepishly, but then frowned. "Wait. Spiderman?"

"Ah! But don't let that deter you, my friend." Alex added sagely. "He's _your_ date tonight."

* * *

Two things were surprisingly lively that night: the conversation between Justin and Rachel, and the two story Tau Upsilon house that Rachel led them to. For the former, Alex had not expected in the slightest; as she had totally lied to Justin about Rachel being a chemistry major (luckily yet strangely, the topic of academia was never broached). As for the latter, Alex had had no idea what to expect – and was pleasantly surprised at how packed the party was.

Rachel and Justin were still chattering away when they arrived (this time, about their shared love for hamsters), so Alex decided to take charge and lead the way up the stone steps. The house was slightly larger than the ones around it, with a tall slanted roof and wooden slats. If it weren't for the light blue paint around the window sills and the white Greek letters nailed over the door, Alex thought that the house could be a dead ringer for the one Justin's creepy vampire girlfriend used to live in. Inside was dark, with only a black light and occasional lasers sweeping the two rooms. Music was pumping so loudly that the bass was shaking the floorboards.

"Goodness!" Justin was scoffing, pulling at his grey cardigan in discomfort. "Don't these kids have parents to tell them to turn down their music at home?"

Alex and Rachel exchanged amused eye rolls.

"Hey!" Rachel had to yell to be heard over the crowd. "I have to go mingle with the other rushees! Want to come?"

"Uh…" Alex did a quick sweep of the room and immediately spotted a tub of ice cream in the corner. _Bingo._ "That's okay!" she yelled back. "I think I see a friend over there!"

"How about you, Justin?"

His eyes followed Rachel's finger, which was gesturing to a group of similarly tall, beautiful blond girls in white sundresses. Almost immediately, he began sweating and stammering incomprehensibly.

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah… this one doesn't do too well anywhere where there might be more than three skirts. I'll take care of him!"

Rachel gave them the okay sign and bade goodbye.

As soon as she left, Justin turned to Alex and hissed, "Why did you do that? I so could've talked to those girls!"

"Yeah, I'm sure they would've been real impressed with your conversation skills," Alex mocked. "What were you saying just now? – oh yeah, I think it went something like '_Uh duh dur uh'_. Yeah, you're a real James Bond."

Justin raised an angry finger, about to retort, but just let it fall and sighed in exasperation, "Where are we going, anyway? What friend of yours are we meeting?"

"Rocky." Alex continued pushing through the crowd.

"Rocky who?"

They reached the table with the food. "Road Ice Cream," Alex grinned, reaching for a bowl.

"I should've known," Justin sighed, shaking his head. "Do you ever stop eating?"

As a fitting response, Alex's mouth was already stuffed with a large spoonful of ice cream. But just as she was about to dig in for a second bite, she spotted someone across the room. Tall. Baseball cap. With a small blond girl. _Shit. Kyle._

Almost as a reflex, Alex ducked behind the table of food. Granted, the Monthly Manhattan meeting was probably long over, but she had told Kyle that she was helping her broken-armed brother move in. And not only was she not doing that at the moment, her obviously _not_ broken-armed brother was tagging along right beside her. _This could complicate things…_

Alex groaned and settled into a more comfortable kneeling position so she could reach for her wand, which was neatly tucked into her knee high boots. Briefly, her dad's voice echoed in her head - "_No magic, you hear me_?" – but, as usual, she widely ignored it.

She waved the wand and chanted, _"I might have told a lie that's white, but right now, help keep me out of sight!" _

There was a brief moment where nothing happened. Alex banged her wand impatiently. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, she felt herself plunged into complete, utter darkness.

"Oh my God!" she cried, leaping to her feet and subsequently hitting her head on the top of the table. "Justin!" Her sightless eyes watered in pain. "Justin, help! I think I'm blind! Fuck!"

Alex frantically waved her arms around in an attempt to feel her way around, but it only resulted in her knocking something wet over and onto her arms. It smelled strongly of tequila. "Ugh, help me," she moaned to the emptiness.

Thankfully, she felt Justin at her side almost immediately. Because that was the thing about Justin. To this day, no matter how much he would berate her for disobeying orders and grumble indignant '_I told you so_'s' – he would do so, all the while, still coming through to save her ass from trouble. Always.

Alex felt a surge of gratitude as she felt Justin's strong, steady hands pull her to a standing position. "Okay Alex, don't worry. I'm right here," he murmured almost kindly in her ear. "I'm right here. What happened?" She felt safe.

"Oh, the usual," she muttered, trying to blink away the darkness. "Spell gone wrong. Can you do a wordless spell to fix it? I'd try, but I can't see my wand. Can you do it?"

Justin didn't answer, but Alex knew he had succeeded when her vision began returning. It began with a hazy outline of her hands and ended with the image of a room of people staring in confusion at her.

There was a very long silence. Alex could've sworn she heard crickets chirping.

"Wow," a very obvious-looking frat boy finally chuckled loudly. "We have drunk girls already?"

The room broke out in laughter, including a relieved Alex and Justin. "Yep, that's right," Justin spoke loudly to no one in particular, since people were already turning back to their own conversations and dancing. "Just a drunk girl! Not anything supernatural or anything like that…"

Alex brushed herself off and vigorously rubbed her eyes. "Alright, they get it," she grumbled. Even though she had avoided any questions about her erratic behavior, there was another problem – the scene she had just caused had drawn attention to herself; ironically, the very thing she was trying to avoid doing in the first place.

When her vision cleared, Alex saw Kyle Scripps making his way around the room towards her. _Oh God. He's coming over here!_

"Aloha, neighbor." Kyle greeted upon reaching them, smiling to reveal a row of pearly white teeth.

"Yeah… a hula to you, too." Alex punched Kyle's shoulder lightly, then turned to Justin with wide eyes, indicating for him not to say anything. She turned back to Kyle with a smile. She noticed, fleetingly, that he had left Lily and her brooding self in the corner where he came from.

"What's her deal?" she asked bluntly, jutting her thumb in Lily's direction.

Kyle turned slightly and replied sheepishly, "Oh. Yeah, about that. She told me you kept staring at me earlier on. Don't worry about it, I know she gets paranoid really easily."

Alex was about to respond, but Kyle went on with a grin, "And I know you probably weren't staring intentionally. I mean, how much have you had to drink? You might need to sit down after that whole episode. That was hilarious."

"Oh, yeah… heh," Alex laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, I'm actually okay now."

"Okay. Good." Kyle looked amused. He turned to Justin, eyes lingering a bit too long on his obviously uninjured arm. "And… are you her brother?"

"Hey, I'm Just-"

"Um!" Alex elbowed Justin so hard that his response was lost in a gasp. "This is Just- just a friend! Just a friend. Rocky."

Justin coughed and glared daggers at Alex out of his peripheral vision.

Kyle inhaled and turned back to Alex, "Well, do you and 'Just a Friend Rocky' want to join Lily and I in the dance room? The DJ's pretty awesome."

Out of the corner of her eye, Alex saw Justin's face whiten. She suppressed a laugh. She supposed that the idea of having his little sister dance up on him might send him into a conniption. And as tempting as it was to imagine making him cry in a frat house, Alex had to admit that the idea grossed her out too.

"We actually have to go meet a friend," Alex lied easily. "But I'll see you at home, dear."

Kyle had been about to leave, but he turned back and smiled at the last part. He gave them a quick wave before disappearing into the pulsating crowd.

As soon as he was gone, Alex let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding.

"What was _that_ all about?" Justin hissed. "Why were you blinded and using magic? And why are you going to see that boy at home?" He crossed his arms menacingly. "Alex Russo, you start explaining right now!" His voice was steadily increasing in pitch.

"Oh calm yourself, Barbara Walters," Alex huffed sneeringly. "Kyle's my neighbor. I told him earlier that I was helping my injured brother move, to get out of going to some boring magazine meeting I signed up for. And you obviously aren't injured, so I was hoping Kyle wouldn't see us all night. So when I tried to use a spell to hide myself, it backfired, then that whole commotion I caused made him notice me. It was dumb. Satisfied?"

Justin only glared in silence.

"Hello?" Alex waved a hand in his face. "Seriously? You can follow an organic chemistry lecture but you can't understand what just happened?"

"I understand," he started slowly. "You _like _this Kyle kid, don't you?" He smirked evilly, as if realizing he had the upper hand in the conversation now.

"Pft!" Alex scoffed noncommittally, trying her hardest not to move her face a millimeter. "Not even. I mean, he's cute. I guess. But he's my neighbor. And he has a girlfriend. You know, that troll in the corner."

"Troll?"

"Not literally. God."

"Oh." Justin recomposed himself. "Anyway Alex, I think you should stay away from Kyle for now. You obviously are interested in a taken man, and we all know that hasn't stopped you before."

Alex's jaw dropped in angry and shocked indignation. "What the-"

"Not to mention," Justin went on snootily, talking over her protests, "if he's the reason you can't control your magic usage… well, he's obviously not a good influence on you. You wouldn't want Dad to hear about any further incidents, would you?"

By now, Alex was about ready to rip her brother a new one. She brushed a brown strand of hair out of her face and growled, "You little f-"

"Hey, now." Justin placed a finger on Alex's cherry-glossed lips to silence her. "Let's not forget, you'd be blind right now without me." He smirked.

Alex seethed in anger, but only exhaled and let her tensed shoulders fall. He was right. "Fuck," she exhaled. "Fine."

"Aw, look at that. I deserve a thank you, don't I?" Justin recited the line from Alex's book and extended his arms for a hug, almost bursting with snarky satisfaction at his victory.

Alex gave potentially the world's meanest scowl before leaning ever so slightly into his arms. She sighed in resigned defeat. "Thank you for helping me," she mumbled half-sincerely into her brother's soft cardigan. "Again."

"Hey, I'm your brother," he replied, tugging lightly on her ponytail. "I'm obligated to."

Sliding her leg up slowly towards her back, Alex made a reach for her wand. She missed and silently cursed. She tilted her neck against Justin's chest and slid down ever so slightly.

"What are you doing?" Justin asked, momentarily shocked.

Alex's fingers closed around the wand in her left boot, and she grinned. "This." She muttered a quick spell (this time, an actual documented one) and tapped her brother's side.

Instantly, Justin doubled over in painful laughter.

Alex stood back and watched her expert Tickling Spell in action. "And I'm your sister, so I'm obligated to make your life miserable if you ever call me a slut again," she replied smugly.

But before she could laugh too long at her brother's quandary, Alex felt someone throw herself heavily onto her shoulder.

"A-a-a-lex!" It was Rachel, who obviously had just returned from a good time with her fellow rushees. Her eyes were slightly out of focus. "I'm so glad you came today!" She breathed a pungent waft of alcohol breath into Alex's face.

"Uh yeah, I'm glad too," Alex laughed, helping support Rachel into an upright position.

Rachel shoved a small shot glass into Alex's hand. "Come on, girl, vodka shots to celebrate being young in New York! Whoo!"

Alex looked back at Justin, who was still writhing in uncontrollable laughter. People around him were beginning to point and stare. She shrugged apathetically and followed Rachel. The spell would wear off in about five minutes anyway.

Alex Russo hadn't been drunk earlier, but she was about to be.

* * *

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! Sorry it was kinda long. As always, feel free to let me know what you thought! I will update soon :)


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